How Alan Clark tried to stitch me up after I ordered his arrest12.01.18
Politicians have expressed varying degrees of horror that two retired police officers dared to talk about their experiences as policemen who arrested Damian Green, until recently effectively the deputy prime minister.
However, I have no qualms in revealing that in 1996 I ordered the arrest of Alan Clark for an offence of obstructing police in the West End of London. By Geoff Platt.

Cyril Smith: key evidence to CSA inquiry ignored by media16.12.17
Shocking revelations and startling testimony punctuated 14 extraordinary days of public hearings on the Rochdale investigation in the overarching inquiry into child sexual abuse. But the media failed to report on most of them.
The shadow of the monstrous Sir Cyril Smith, the late former Liberal MP, loomed large over the “Rochdale” hearings of the CSA inquiry in October…

Cyril Smith’s boyfriend Harry Wild ‘groomed’ young inmates24.11.17
Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith’s councillor boyfriend preyed on young male inmates of a prison in Rochdale, a previously confidential police report reveals.
Harry Wild, who was a Tory councillor in Rochdale and chairman of the council’s social services committee, is suspected to have shared with Smith a sexual interest in under-age boys. Police investigated Wild over claims that he tried to groom inmates at Buckley Hall jail.

Carole Kasir: coroner blocked from ‘incriminating’ questions17.11.17
Coroner John Burton was blocked from asking “incriminating” questions of the ex-boyfriend of the woman who ran the notorious Elm Guest House.
I can reveal private notes taken by the coroner for Carole Kasir’s inquest in 1990 that shed new light on the case that has long been at the centre of controversy over whether the co-manager of a paedophile brothel linked to VIPs killed herself – or was murdered.

Mike Veale’s warning about vilification of Edward Heath probe14.10.17
Police chief Mike Veale condemned the campaign against his investigation into Sir Edward Heath for increasing the suffering of survivors of child sexual abuse.
A campaign of vilification has dogged ‘Operation Conifer’, the national investigation into allegations against the late former prime minister of child sexual abuse, since the Mail on Sunday last November branded accusers as “fantasists”.

CSA inquiry lacks ‘investigative capability’, warns Mike Veale12.10.17
Wiltshire Police chief constable Mike Veale warns that the overarching inquiry into child sexual abuse may be hampered by an absence of “pro-active investigative capability”.
The officer who led ‘Operation Conifer’, the national investigation into Sir Edward Heath, the late former prime minister, hopes that the inquiry will take over the momentum on investigating a possible establishment cover-up over child sexual abuse (CSA).

Mike Veale slams Keith Vaz over Edward Heath intervention07.10.17
Wiltshire Police’s chief constable is “sick to death” of repeated past failures to investigate prominent people for child sexual abuse properly.
Mike Veale has told friends that he is “appalled” by the discoveries of ‘Operation Conifer’, his force’s national investigation into allegations against Sir Edward Heath, former prime minister. It found repeated past failures to investigate claims.

Operation Conifer: Mike Veale ‘appalled’ by past cover-ups04.10.17 – updated 04.02.18
Wiltshire Police’s chief constable is “sick to death” of repeated past failures to investigate prominent people for child sexual abuse properly.
Mike Veale has told friends that he is “appalled” by the discoveries of ‘Operation Conifer’, his force’s national investigation into allegations against Sir Edward Heath, former prime minister. It found repeated past failures to investigate claims.

Police delayed Edward Heath report to avoid Tory conference23.09.17
Police delayed publishing a report on their investigation into Sir Edward Heath over child sexual abuse to avoid overshadowing the Conservative party conference.
Mike Veale, chief constable of Wiltshire Police, has sent a full, confidential report detailing evidence that Heath was an active paedophile while he was prime minister to Amber Rudd, home secretary, in the past fortnight.

Revealed: Met forces deletions from Nicola Edgington report23.06.17
Scotland Yard succeeded in watering down the official report that reveals how police and NHS failures allowed a schizophrenic patient to murder a stranger.
Nicola Edgington, who was living in the community, killed a grandmother with a knife in 2011 – almost decapitating her. The report is expected to be published today after being leaked to me. But I can reveal what has been modified.

Sally Hodkin’s son slams probe into murder by schizophrenic22.06.17
NHS investigators are under fire from the son of the grandmother murdered at random by a schizophrenic patient for making “scapegoats from low-hanging fruits”.
Nicola Edgington killed Sally Hodkin, 58, in south-east London in 2011 by slashing her neck with a butcher’s knife – almost decapitating her. Sally’s son, Len, said: “We think that the general public will be as outraged as we are.”

Yvonne Fletcher: Libyan envoy is only ‘VIP’ to agree to go to memorial event09.04.17
Only one dignitary has accepted an invite to this month’s anniversary commemoration of WPC Yvonne Fletcher’s shooting dead outside the Libyan embassy – Libya’s ambassador.
Organisers are stunned that other “VIPs” – including the mayor of London, the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, and senior ministers – have failed to respond to an invite. It comes weeks after PC Keith Palmer’s killing in the Westminster attack.

Data journalism at Exaro showed way to financially sustainable new media10.10.16
Exaro showed how a small start-up team can hold power to account, but it also pointed the way to make investigative journalism financially sustainable. So how could the journalistic success of Exaro be matched on the commercial side?
Its editorial team, frustrated by the lack of progress on Exaro’s business side, began a project to carry out data journalism in a way that also had commercial use.

Exaro helped Britain turn corner on dark chapter over child sexual abuse02.08.16
Investigating the sexual abuse of children is harrowing for journalists and an especially difficult area to uncover the truth.
The main witnesses – maligned by much of society that prefers to “blame the victim” than confront the truth – are often wrestling with post-traumatic stress disorder well into adulthood. Some parts of the media, outrageously, use that condition to dismiss survivors of child sexual abuse as “mentally ill”.

Obama’s FOIA promise shows poor beginning, data shows16.03.10
America’s federal government made greater use of legal exemptions to prevent disclosure under FOIA during president Barack Obama’s first year in office. That is the conclusion of a review by the Associated Press and came despite Obama’s promises of increased openness.
The review of 17 US government departments found that, in total, they reported using nearly every one of the FOIA exemptions more in the 2009 fiscal year, compared with the previous 12 months.

Lord’s
legal bid poses ‘constitutional crisis’15.11.09
Ministers are facing a legal challenge that threatens to unravel the reforms
of the house of lords in 1999.
If the reforms were ruled to be defective, then all legislation
that passed through the house since then would be void, sparking an extraordinary
constitutional crisis. A hereditary peer who lost his seat in the upper
house, Lord Mereworth, is mounting the landmark legal challenge.

Housing
corporation’s £17m blunders revealed07.03.08
Blunders behind the failure of a £17 million flagship IT project by
the government's housing agency are revealed in a confidential report. It
was released under FOIA after a 17-month battle. By Bill Goodwin.
Weak management and a lack of openness were key factors that led to
the project failing to meet either its deadlines or budget. The report also
reveals that documents dating from early in the project appear to have gone
missing.Memos reveal strategy to prevent
FOIA disclosure

How
spin doctors control ‘erring’ ministers15.11.07
One of Tony Blair’s former spin doctors reveals how the Labour government
in the UK keeps “erring” ministers “on message”. By
Fiona O’Cleirigh.
Lance Price, deputy to Alastair Campbell when he was Tony Blair’s
official spokesman, explains how the Downing Street press office made ministers
who publicly expressed doubts about any government policy change their mind
– within minutes. Why
British government prefers ‘spin’ to FOIA

MMR
group action collapses in high court08.06.07Families of children allegedly damaged by the MMR triple vaccination
saw their group claim for damages in the high court collapse today.
All but two claims against various pharmaceutical companies must be
discontinued, or else be struck out, because of the withdrawal of legal aid.
But the judge stressed that his ruling did not reject any of the contentions
that MMR had seriously damaged the children.FOIA
Centre news archive: The MMR files

Lawyers
defrauding legal aid to be ‘named’15.05.07
All lawyers found to have defrauded the legal aid system are set to be officially
“named and shamed”. The Department for Constitutional Affairs
disclosed the move in response to a FOIA request for details about investigations
into legal-aid payments.
The department, which has merged into the new ministry of justice,
says that the names of lawyers shown to have taken such money “in an
inappropriate fashion” are to be published shortly.Cherie Booth earns £30,000 a year
from legal aid

Memos
reveal strategy to block FOIA requests17.04.07Government officials devised a secret strategy to frustrate any request
for the disclosure of the findings of an investigation into a troubled information-technology
project. By Bill Goodwin.
Confidential memos expose how officials at the housing corporation
planned a strategy to block any request filed under FOIA for a report on the
investigation, seeking tips from government lawyers on the tactics that they
could use to prevent disclosure. Officials began to devise their strategy
even before the investigation was completed and despite the presumption under
FOIA in favour of disclosing requested material.

NHS
to spend £1m seeking reporter’s source02.04.07
NHS bosses have spent at least £300,000 trying to identify the source
of a freelance journalist’s story about Moors murderer Ian Brady. And
the final bill could top £1 million.
The disclosure of the figures under FOIA comes after the court of appeal
ruled in February that the journalist, Robin Ackroyd, should not have to reveal
his confidential sources.

Whitehall
was warned about MMR risk05.03.07 – updated 21.03.07
Britain used a version of MMR for four years even though health officials
knew of problems with it in other countries, newly released documents show.
Previously confidential Whitehall documents, released under FOIA, show
how government health officials and experts gradually learnt several months
earlier of the dangers of the type of MMR introduced, which causes encephalitis-type
conditions, including meningitis, in some cases. The MMR with the known dangers
was replaced after four years.Revealed: how officials dismissed MMR alarmsFOIA
Centre news archive: The MMR files

More
Scottish bodies to be covered by FOISA16.03.07
Ministers in Scotland have drawn up a list of hundreds of Scottish bodies
that could in future be covered by “freedom of information”. By
Hamish Macdonell.
The Scottish executive is to contact a range of organisations –
including independent schools, charities and even newspapers – before
deciding whether to make them subject to the freedom of information (Scotland)
act (FOISA). Margaret Curran, minister for parliamentary business, revealed
the move following a review of FOISA. ‘Secret Scotland’ forced open
by FOISA regulator

‘Brown’s
think-tank’ doubled events at No11 05.02.07
Chancellor Gordon Brown’s base in Downing Street doubled the number
of seminars it hosted for the Smith institute despite an official warning
to the “think-tank”.
A second set of documents released under FOIA shows that the Smith
institute, a registered charity, held 27 events in the past 12 months at 11
Downing Street – more than double its initially requested frequency
– despite the charity comm-ission warning six years ago that its use
of No11 raised questions over its political independence. Smith institute warned about its
use of No11

Govt
attacks FOIA watchdog over ID order09.01.07
Government lawyers attacked the information commissioner for not living in
the “real world” after ordering disclosure of confidential reports
on the identity-cards programme. By Bill Goodwin.
The battle over whether the “gateway review” reports should
be disclosed under FOIA has pitted ministers against the information commissioner,
Richard Thomas, and the case is due to go before the information tribunal
in March.NHS neutered NAO’s criticisms of
IT scheme

Royal
Mail’s bid for ‘junk mail’ secrecy fails11.12.06
Acute sensitivity at the Royal Mail over public outrage about the deluge of
“junk mail” it distributes has been exposed by FOIA.
The Royal Mail refused to disclose data on how many people have registered
to stop receiving unaddressed junk mail, claiming that it was “commercially
sensitive”. But it looked foolish because similar data was released
by the mailing preference service.

NHS
neutered NAO’s criticisms of IT scheme07.09.06
Criticisms by official auditors of the £12.4 billion NHS information-technology
scheme were removed or neutered under government pressure. By Tony
Collins.
Draft versions of a report by the national audit office (NAO) into
the project, disclosed under FOIA, reveal what the covered-up criticisms were.
And there are sharp differences between three draft NAO reports and the final
version, with a series of crucial omissions, additions and alterations.With
obsessive official secrecy, is FOIA any use?

How
FOIA opens up care homes to scrutiny22.08.06
Care homes are being forced to reveal what is going on behind closed doors
thanks to “freedom of information”.
Relatives of elderly residents in care homes have made astonishing
discoveries about these places because all public bodies – including
the commission for social care inspection, which regulates care homes, as
well as children’s homes and other social services – are subject
to FOIA.Revealed:
how FOIA casts light on health issues

Prison
drug finds rise by a third in three years13.08.06
Drug finds in UK prisons have risen by more than a third over the past three
years, new figures reveal. It comes as a leaked confidential prison service
report suggested that as many as 1,000 prison officers in Britain are corrupt.
Data released under FOIA shows that the total number of drug finds
reached 5,490 in 2005, up from 4,050 in 2002.

Ministers
consider raising FOIA charges 30.07.06
Ministers are considering an increase in charges for FOIA requests. A leaked
confidential cabinet paper proposes that fees should be set to deter “the
most difficult requests”.
The paper by Lord Falconer, constitutional affairs secretary, presents
options on how fees could be changed. He wants new rules to make it easier
for the government to refuse requests on the grounds that they are too costly.Ministers
deny plans to increase FOIA charges

Coroner
for Diana quits after FOIA revelation24.07.06
Coroner Michael Burgess resigned from the inquest into the death of Diana,
princess of Wales, hours after the government admitted that he had no jurisdiction.
Officials conceded earlier in the day, following a FOIA request, that
the royal coroner was conducting the inquest on a false basis. The wrongful
claim of jurisdiction is crucial because it enables, exceptionally, the jury
to consist entirely of royal staff members.Met’s
Diana probe cost £750,000 in first year

Byers was warned on Railtrack administration11.06.06
Labour’s relations with big business have been undermined following
the release of minutes of government meetings about Railtrack going into administration.
Minutes of a series of high-level meetings conducted by Stephen Byers,
then transport secretary, released under FOIA, show that he received a warning
from Tom Winsor, then the rail regulator, about his proposed strategy. The
minutes are bound to shake the trust of the financial city of London in the
government.

Home
office funds Muslim Council of Britain10.05.06–
updated 05.06.06
Letters between the home office and a high-profile muslim group reveal that
the government has provided it with at least £150,000 of funding.
The group, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), led at the time of
the grant by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, had asked for £500,000, according to
correspondence disclosed under FOIA. It raises questions about the MCB’s
independence from the government.

Ministers
deny plans to increase FOIA charges27.03.06
Ministers deny that they plan to increase charges for FOIA requests in an
attempt to curb freedom of information. The department for constitutional
affairs made the denial in evidence submitted to a parliamentary committee.
But it fell short of denying any plan to increase charges in order
to meet any aim other than deterring requests.

BBC
unveils the stories it found through FOIA 17.03.06
BBC journalists have disclosed a list of revelatory stories that they obtained
during the first year of full implementation of FOIA in the UK.
The BBC produced the list for MPs on the parliamentary constitutional
affairs committee, which is reviewing how FOIA is working.

Richard
Thomas: ‘We’re trying our best’ 14.03.06
FOIA regulator Richard Thomas told MPs that the information commissioner’s
office is trying its best and is becoming “tougher”.
He faced a grilling at the constitutional affairs committee hearing
held today over the performance of his office in regulating FOIA during its
first year of full implementation.

Commons
told to release MPs’
travel exes11.03.06Parliament
has been ordered to disclose a breakdown of travel expenses for each MP in
the UK. The house of commons had refused to release the information, saying
that it would breach the data protection act
and would be “unfair”
to MPs.
In one of the most significant “decision notices” made
by the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, he has ruled that the house
of commons must meet requests for the details under FOIA.

NHS
gives contraceptive drugs to young girls 26.02.06
Hundreds of girls aged 14 or under have received on the national health service
contraceptive injections that make them infertile for up to three years as
part of the government's effort to prevent teenage pregnancies.
Figures released under FOIA show that the injections were given to
750 girls aged 14 or under in England during a single year. Contraceptive
implants were given to another 150 girls in the same age group.

E-mail
reveals Standard Life ‘smeared’ critic25.02.06
Insurer Standard Life stands accused of smearing a rebel policy-holder, Michael
Hogan. An e-mail sent to Standard Life executives and advisors, which
has been disclosed under the data protection act, reveals an attempt to discredit
the critic who stood for election to the mutual's board.
Entitled, “Some interesting details re M Hogan,” the 500-word
e-mail raised queries about Hogan’s business record.

MoD
staff to receive secret Commons ‘steer’ 18.02.06
Military personnel and defence officials giving evidence to parliament’s
defence select committee will in future be warned about the likely areas of
questioning.
The ministry of defence released under FOIA guidance issued to staff
as part of reforms in response to criticism in Lord Hutton’s inquiry
into the death of Dr David Kelly, the late weapons inspector.
MoD audits its press relations

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Police file High Court challenge over Yvonne Fletcher case14.01.18 – updated 19.02.18
Rank-and-file police officers have launched an unprecedented judicial review over the refusal to prosecute the suspect in the murder of their colleague Yvonne Fletcher.
They have lodged the case in the High Court against the home secretary, foreign secretary and GCHQ, the UK’s signals-intelligence agency, for blocking key evidence from being used in a prosecution on grounds of “national security”.